“Continuous induction charging, which we call dynamic in-motion charging, could be used to create ‘e-ways’ — motorways with dedicated charging lanes, set with charging pads spaced at regular intervals,” said Halo’s Helen Fitzhugh. “As the electric car drives over the pads, it picks up enough charge to ensure that the driver always leaves the e-way with more power than when he or she began the journey.”

Halo IPT’s power pads use inductive power transfer (IPT) to charge an EV. A “pickup pad” is magnetically coupled to an electrified coil in the power pad. When the two are “tuned,” power is wirelessly transferred between the charger and the EV. This isn’t news to anyone who uses a wireless charger to juice up their iPhone, but induction charging already is available outside of a Brookstone catalog.

“The technology is ready today,” said Fitzhugh. “In fact, induction charging is already used in manufacturing, car assembly and robotics to power machinery on the move, so the principle is nothing new. The difference is that we are taking the technology out of the factory and applying it to electric vehicles for the first time.”

Well, not the first time. We must point out that GM’s late, lamented EV1 had a paddle charger that didn’t need to “plug” into anywhere — but it did require a cord connected to the wall, and one certainly couldn’t drive around while charging. These pads are self-contained, can work from underneath asphalt, snow and ice, and are resistant to vandalism and weather extremes. Unlike plug-in chargers, the conductors are not exposed. In the event of a natural disaster, pads shut off if they are severely damaged.

According to Fitzhugh, Halo’s induction chargers would first be available in pilot trials for in-home use. Initially, the chargers would cost around $2,000, about what you’d pay for a conventional charger. Fitzhugh believes the cost could fall to $800 within four or five years. E-ways would come much later.

“While the technology to do this already exists, clearly the infrastructure to support it remains to be developed,” Fitzhugh said. Though she estimates that adding power pads along existing roadways would add less than 10 percent to the cost of a roadway, “we do not expect e-ways to become a reality before 2020.”

Fitzhugh said Halo is talking to automakers who are interested in the system and have already supplied chargers to OEMs, but she “cannot discuss specific details until contract details are announced.”